Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Whale Rider, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans and Nature
Maori Identity
Gender and Power
Familial Love
Summary
Analysis
With a thunderous sound, the whale rider and his whale “burst through the sea” near Whangara, where they have arrived after a long journey from Hawaiki. The whale starts to miss his master, who builds a life and starts a family on land. One day, the rider returns to the whale for a final ride but then tells the whale to return home. The whale is permanently heartbroken.
Some readers might find this chapter’s timeline confusing. Here, the ancient whale is reminiscing about his relationship with the whale rider centuries ago. Much like Koro Apirana, the whale yearns to restore the ancestral, now-broken link between humans and animals. The juxtaposition between Kahu riding the dolphin at the end of the last chapter and the description of the whale rider here strongly foreshadows the novel’s conclusion, in which Kahu becomes the second whale rider.
Themes
The herd of whales swims south under the Antarctic sea ice but eventually hits a wall. The ancient whale cries out in despair, and ice crashes into the sea around the herd. But then, the ancient whale sees the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) shining through the ice, thinks of his master, and instantly knows which way to go. The other whales follow and accept that the ancient whale is leading them to sure death.
The herd faces a new, deadly challenge that calls into question the ancient whale’s trustworthiness as a leader. Guided by instinct and memory, he leads his herd toward Whangara, but it isn’t clear that this will save them from the dangers along their migration route. The others decide to follow him, despite believing that they will die, which indicates that either their loyalty is stronger than their survival instinct or they think that not following the ancient whale would land them in an even more dangerous situation.
Themes
